Obama And ChamberlainSame Philosophy, Same Policy
Obamas foreign policy resembles Chamberlains (British PM) while Germany was preparing for war.
WWII unlike other wars had a lasting impact on the whole world for two generations. It established a protected communist system with its spheres of influence and started the cold war. Thousands of people died and millions were negatively affected, mostly due to the totalitarian communist control.
Eastern Europe would have been just Europe. Think Vietnam and Korean wars. They were the net result of a pacifistic philosophy. Of course, Teddy Roosevelt was part of it to a certain extend. History speaks for itself.
Below is a synopsis of how one leader of the powerful nation of Great Britain ignored reality. Chamberlain alone could have saved millions of people from suffering, while making the whole world a better place for everybody, as of 1938 and not as of 1990 when the communism collapsed.
How about Hitler? He would have stayed as a chancellor and eventually voted out. No holocaust would have occurred. England and France had plenty of military power at the time.
Great Britain failed to stop Mussolini from invading Abyssinia (Ethiopia).That was 1935.
Chamberlain failed to stop Hitler from invading Austria. That was 1938.
Chamberlain failed to stop Hitler from invading Czechoslovakia. That was 1938.
Eden, Chamberlains foreign minister and some of his staff, resigned from the cabinet. They felt that Chamberlain was too much of a pacifist. He wanted peace more than anything else.
What is even more puzzling, Germany was financially broke while arming itself, and had no credit. England was the only country who extended credit to Hitler.
Hitler discounted France. France was too busy building their socialist society.
Remember, 1938 was a year when most European countries were becoming quite prosperous, mostly due to the industrial revolution. No more rich monarchs sucking the peasants blood.
Communism was on the rising and the proletarians were ready to take over the wealth from the rich and distribute it to themselves. Stalin was their God and the Germans elected Hitler as their God. Hitler was ready to deliver, and he almost did.
The British 1938
First of all, Great Britain is not Europe. From the USA continent is seems that way. It is an island and as such had been protected over the years by the water, The English Channel. That was before the aircraft was invented.
British foreign policy was based on the concept of the balance of power with Britain holding the balance. In that regard, Britain had tended, when France was stronger than Germany, to support Germany; when Germany was stronger than France, to support France. Since the War I, the League of Nations has been a convenient mechanism to this end; if the League ceased to serve British purpose, Britain ignored it.
England was very pro-German even after Hitler established dictatorial rules in Germany. So were the Americas, including the United States. Many in England, such as Tories, believed that an England-German alliance would be beneficial to fend off Communist Russia, called Soviet Union. In fact England was the only ally Germany had at the time. The city of London had enormous investments in Germany. Many powerful individuals disliked France and the French; therefore tended to be pro-German. Many influential personalities believed that a stable Germany under Hitler will insure peace.
League of Nations 1938
1918 January 8
The President of the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson, in his message on the Conditions of Peace delivered at a Joint Session of the Two Houses of the American Congress, identifies the fourteen points intended to serve as the basis for world peace. Point 14 says:
A general association of nations should be formed on the basis of covenants designed to create mutual guarantees of the political independence and territorial integrity of States, large and small equally.
The League of Nations, what is today the United Nations, was conceived by Woodrow Wilson, while the USA did not intent to become a signatory.
The league was just a mouthpiece of member states. The League decided nothing; the individual states carried all responsibilities. The Covenant was written in the assumption the United States of America would be a signatory. The League turned out to be ineffective because the participating states lacked a policeman, the United States.
In 1933, Germany and Japan withdrew from the League.
The brief history of the League may be divided into there periods. Until the Treaty of Locarno in 1925 it was for the most part the instrument of victorious powers. Then till 1933, when Germany departed, it struggled with the problem of disarmament: The allied powers refused to obey their pledges and to disarm. Since 1933 the major issue had been collective security, meaning an attempt to bring Germany into a security system on the basis of more or less equal rights.
In retrospect, just like todays United Nations, the League of Nations was totally ineffective in avoiding a major conflict.
Tr Cojoc
4/15/10
WWII unlike other wars had a lasting impact on the whole world for two generations. It established a protected communist system with its spheres of influence and started the cold war. Thousands of people died and millions were negatively affected, mostly due to the totalitarian communist control.
Eastern Europe would have been just Europe. Think Vietnam and Korean wars. They were the net result of a pacifistic philosophy. Of course, Teddy Roosevelt was part of it to a certain extend. History speaks for itself.
Below is a synopsis of how one leader of the powerful nation of Great Britain ignored reality. Chamberlain alone could have saved millions of people from suffering, while making the whole world a better place for everybody, as of 1938 and not as of 1990 when the communism collapsed.
How about Hitler? He would have stayed as a chancellor and eventually voted out. No holocaust would have occurred. England and France had plenty of military power at the time.
Great Britain failed to stop Mussolini from invading Abyssinia (Ethiopia).That was 1935.
Chamberlain failed to stop Hitler from invading Austria. That was 1938.
Chamberlain failed to stop Hitler from invading Czechoslovakia. That was 1938.
Eden, Chamberlains foreign minister and some of his staff, resigned from the cabinet. They felt that Chamberlain was too much of a pacifist. He wanted peace more than anything else.
What is even more puzzling, Germany was financially broke while arming itself, and had no credit. England was the only country who extended credit to Hitler.
Hitler discounted France. France was too busy building their socialist society.
Remember, 1938 was a year when most European countries were becoming quite prosperous, mostly due to the industrial revolution. No more rich monarchs sucking the peasants blood.
Communism was on the rising and the proletarians were ready to take over the wealth from the rich and distribute it to themselves. Stalin was their God and the Germans elected Hitler as their God. Hitler was ready to deliver, and he almost did.
The British 1938
First of all, Great Britain is not Europe. From the USA continent is seems that way. It is an island and as such had been protected over the years by the water, The English Channel. That was before the aircraft was invented.
British foreign policy was based on the concept of the balance of power with Britain holding the balance. In that regard, Britain had tended, when France was stronger than Germany, to support Germany; when Germany was stronger than France, to support France. Since the War I, the League of Nations has been a convenient mechanism to this end; if the League ceased to serve British purpose, Britain ignored it.
England was very pro-German even after Hitler established dictatorial rules in Germany. So were the Americas, including the United States. Many in England, such as Tories, believed that an England-German alliance would be beneficial to fend off Communist Russia, called Soviet Union. In fact England was the only ally Germany had at the time. The city of London had enormous investments in Germany. Many powerful individuals disliked France and the French; therefore tended to be pro-German. Many influential personalities believed that a stable Germany under Hitler will insure peace.
League of Nations 1938
1918 January 8
The President of the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson, in his message on the Conditions of Peace delivered at a Joint Session of the Two Houses of the American Congress, identifies the fourteen points intended to serve as the basis for world peace. Point 14 says:
A general association of nations should be formed on the basis of covenants designed to create mutual guarantees of the political independence and territorial integrity of States, large and small equally.
The League of Nations, what is today the United Nations, was conceived by Woodrow Wilson, while the USA did not intent to become a signatory.
The league was just a mouthpiece of member states. The League decided nothing; the individual states carried all responsibilities. The Covenant was written in the assumption the United States of America would be a signatory. The League turned out to be ineffective because the participating states lacked a policeman, the United States.
In 1933, Germany and Japan withdrew from the League.
The brief history of the League may be divided into there periods. Until the Treaty of Locarno in 1925 it was for the most part the instrument of victorious powers. Then till 1933, when Germany departed, it struggled with the problem of disarmament: The allied powers refused to obey their pledges and to disarm. Since 1933 the major issue had been collective security, meaning an attempt to bring Germany into a security system on the basis of more or less equal rights.
In retrospect, just like todays United Nations, the League of Nations was totally ineffective in avoiding a major conflict.
Tr Cojoc
4/15/10